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Kaab
Ixkaab Balam is "the first daughter of Ixmoe Balam, first daughter of Ixtopob Balam, first daughter of Ixchukwapl Balam, first daughter from a line of first daughters descended from queens who ruled empires more vast than your imagination can compass." She is the third of the name, and her house is the House of Balam of the Traders of the Kinwiinik. Mesoamerican in appearance, she is 20, tall, and athletic. Her hair is long and dark, and is generally worn in an ornate, braided style. Kaab arrives in the City on The Wasp, a ship of her people. She took her father's dueling sword with her, and believes that he will understand why. Kaab is in disgrace and exile following a disaster that is never fully explained, but seems to involve a woman from another Kinwiinik trading family who died before Season 1 began. Thus, while Kaab is given a genuine welcome by her family in the City, she is also under probation, and feels this. She wants to redeem herself and does not want to be restricted from acting in the spheres she most enjoys. She dreads being confined to the Balam compound and forced to look after the babies. Kaab finds the City too cold much of the time, and dirtier than her own, where she can go out barefoot or in sandals and not have to worry about what she might step in. Like many of her people, she finds the Local food bland and the way the City folk take their chocolate bizarre. Having learned the bare rudiments of fighting with a sword from a Xanamwiinik sailmaker on the ship, Kaab goes to Riverside almost as soon as she disembarks, because it is the most disreputable neighborhood she knows about. There, she gets into a fight with Benjamin Hawke over Tess the Hand, believing she is a prostitute being mistretated by her pimp. Although she loses the fight, Kaab enjoys the experience (and makes face saving remarks about Ben having served her in a ritual to sacrifice her blood to her gods). Kaab quickly becomes familiar with people from many walks of life in the City -- Riverside, the University, the merchants of the Middle City. By the end of the season, she will also know people from the Hill. She sees more sides of the City than most. This has obvious advantages to a trader who is also a spy, as are most, if not all, Kinwiinik traders. But, it also tends to make Kaab's life complicated. Her forays into Riverside leave her infatuated with Tess, while her trips to the Fenton home and the University area forge bonds of friendship between her, Rafe Fenton, and Micah Heslop (whom Kaab recognizes is a girl). Kaab is aware of the carefully juggling act she must perform to keep her loyalty to her new friends from clashing with her loyalty to her family and her people. If the people of the Land were to learn how to navigate to Kinwiinik lands, it would be a disaster for Kaab, the Balam, and the Kinwiinik. Currently, the Kinwiinik have a monopoly on the chocolate trade from the Batab, the Ruler of the Territories. Other trader families are pressuring the Batab to cancel this monopoly, and the Balam family would lose a considerable amount of position and status if this were to happen. Worse still, Kaab's people are under pressure from the Tullan Empire, which is actively seeking a reason to invade. If the empire were to do so, it would not simply mean a bloody war and conquest; Kaab's family would likely be killed as sacrifices to the gods. This means that the stakes are far higher than merely financial. Protecting the secret of naval navigation is a matter of life and death for Kaab, her family, and her people. Despite her difficult position, Kaab is a woman who enjoys life and who is unafraid to find what she wants, rather than waiting for it to be offered. People Kaab Knows Friends Named Micah Heslop Rafe Fenton Tess Vincent Applethorpe Family Named Ahaak Ahchuleb (Also "Chuleb", “Uncle Chuleb”, “Chuleb Balam”, “Ahchuleb of the Balam”, Ahchuleb Balam) Ahjuub Ahkitan Ahpuut Chokan Ixchukwapl Balam Ixmaas Ixmoe Ixnoom Ixoen Ixsaabim (“Aunt Saabim”, “Auntie”) Ixtopob Balam Juub Koxol, Uncle Mukuy Unnamed Father to Ixkaab Great mother to Kaab Great uncle of Kaab Household Named Bapl Dzan Unnamed Balaam family priest Cook Gatekeepers for the Balaam Enemies Named Alaric Cocom (family name) Frederick (Duke of Karleigh) Itzcoatl, Lord Reynald Unnamed Tullan nobleman Tullan delegation Other Associates Named Akhin Amos Batab, Ruler of the Territories Ben Cassie Chaacmul Citlali Diane Ernestine Hemmynge, Lady Ekchuah Fenton, Mistress Greenglass, Master Henry Ixcacao Ixchel Jamie Jenny Madeline Nathaniel Hemmynge, Lord Pip Reuben, Cousin Rosalie Rupert Hawke Thelonious Fenton, Master Thomas Abney Tiny Pete Titus Tommykins Two-Ply Max Wicked Thomas William Xamanek Xkawkaw Unnamed The Batab's latest wife Cabin boy on the Wasp Captain of the Wasp Guard in the Fenton Compound Kinwiinik woman living in Tultenco Linkboy Maid in the Balaam Compound Maid in the Fenton Compound Man of Business in the Fenton Compound Possum Rupert Hawke's various neighbors in the country Sailmaker on the Wasp Serving boy on the Hill Wasp Ship's Agent Supplier to the haberdasher of the Duke of Karleigh Washerwoman Woman dressed in trousers